Stuffed animal
Encyclopedia
A stuffed toy is a toy
sewn from cloth, plush
, or other textiles, and stuffed with straw
, bean
s, plastic pellets, cotton
, synthetic fibres, or other similar materials. Stuffed toys are also known as plush toys (U.S. English) from plush
, the outer material used, and soft toys or cuddly toys (British English).
Stuffed toys are made in many different forms, often resembling animals, legendary creature
s, cartoon characters or inanimate objects. They are often used as comfort object
s, for display or collecting and given as gifts, such as for graduation, Valentine's Day
or birthdays.
The first commercial concern to create stuffed toys was the German Steiff company in 1880. Steiff used new technology developed for upholstery
to make their stuffed toys. In 1903 Richard Steiff
designed a soft bear that differed from earlier traditional rag doll
s because it was made of plush furlike fabric. At the same time in the USA, Morris Michtom
created the first teddy bear
, after being inspired by a drawing of Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt
with a bear cub. The character Peter Rabbit
from English author Beatrix Potter
was the first stuffed toy to be patented, in 1903.
Sock monkey
s are handmade stuffed monkeys made out of socks that first appeared during the Great Depression
. Amigurumi
is a Japan
ese type of handcrafted knitted or crochet
ed stuffed toys. Amigurumi are typically made to look cute
with over-sized heads and undersized extremities. Beginning in 2003, they are collected and sold on crafting websites like Etsy
.
There are many brands of stuffed toys, including Beanie Babies, a line of stuffed beanbag animals, that was started in 1993. Several marketing strategies, such as keeping them at a low price, introducing a wide variety of Beanie Babies, giving them names, birthdays, and personalities, and retiring certain Beanie Babies after a while (thus giving them collector's value) made them widely popular for years after they were introduced..
Several brands of electronic and robotic plush toys were fad
s when they were first released. These include Tickle Me Elmo
, a laughing and shaking plush toy based on the character Elmo
from the Sesame Street
television show, released in 1996, Furby
, a robotic talking plush toy with its own language, released in 1998 and Zhu Zhu Pets
, a line of robotic plush hamsters released in 2009.
Webkinz
stuffed animals were created by Ganz
in 2005. Each Webkinz toy comes with a unique "Secret Code" that gives access to the Webkinz World website and a virtual version
of the toy for online play. Disney's Club Penguin
and Build-A-Bearville from Build-A-Bear Workshop
are other online worlds
with content that can be unlocked from codes found on associated stuffed toys.
Pillow Pets
are a brand of folding stuffed toys. These types have straps that open to transform the toy from the stuffed toy position to pillow
position, and close to restore it back to a stuffed toy.
Toy
A toy is any object that can be used for play. Toys are associated commonly with children and pets. Playing with toys is often thought to be an enjoyable means of training the young for life in human society. Different materials are used to make toys enjoyable and cuddly to both young and old...
sewn from cloth, plush
Plush
Plush is a textile having a cut nap or pile the same as fustian or velvet.Originally the pile of plush consisted of mohair or worsted yarn, but now silk by itself or with a cotton backing is used for plush, the distinction from velvet being found in the longer and less dense pile of plush...
, or other textiles, and stuffed with straw
Straw
Straw is an agricultural by-product, the dry stalks of cereal plants, after the grain and chaff have been removed. Straw makes up about half of the yield of cereal crops such as barley, oats, rice, rye and wheat. It has many uses, including fuel, livestock bedding and fodder, thatching and...
, bean
Bean
Bean is a common name for large plant seeds of several genera of the family Fabaceae used for human food or animal feed....
s, plastic pellets, cotton
Cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal....
, synthetic fibres, or other similar materials. Stuffed toys are also known as plush toys (U.S. English) from plush
Plush
Plush is a textile having a cut nap or pile the same as fustian or velvet.Originally the pile of plush consisted of mohair or worsted yarn, but now silk by itself or with a cotton backing is used for plush, the distinction from velvet being found in the longer and less dense pile of plush...
, the outer material used, and soft toys or cuddly toys (British English).
Stuffed toys are made in many different forms, often resembling animals, legendary creature
Legendary creature
A legendary creature is a mythological or folkloric creature.-Origin:Some mythical creatures have their origin in traditional mythology and have been believed to be real creatures, for example the dragon, the unicorn, and griffin...
s, cartoon characters or inanimate objects. They are often used as comfort object
Comfort object
A comfort object, transitional object, or security blanket is an item used to provide psychological comfort, especially in unusual or unique situations, or at bedtime for small children. Among toddlers, comfort objects may take the form of a blanket, a stuffed animal, or a favorite toy, and may be...
s, for display or collecting and given as gifts, such as for graduation, Valentine's Day
Valentine's Day
Saint Valentine's Day, commonly shortened to Valentine's Day, is an annual commemoration held on February 14 celebrating love and affection between intimate companions. The day is named after one or more early Christian martyrs named Saint Valentine, and was established by Pope Gelasius I in 496...
or birthdays.
History and types
Upholstery
Upholstery is the work of providing furniture, especially seats, with padding, springs, webbing, and fabric or leather covers. The word upholstery comes from the Middle English word upholder, which referred to a tradesman who held up his goods. The term is equally applicable to domestic,...
to make their stuffed toys. In 1903 Richard Steiff
Richard Steiff
Richard Steiff was a German inventor and entrepreneur. The nephew of the toymaker Margarete Steiff, he is credited with the designing the Steiff Company's first toy bear....
designed a soft bear that differed from earlier traditional rag doll
Rag doll
A rag doll is a children's toy. It is a cloth figure, a doll traditionally home-made from spare scraps of material. They are one of the most ancient children's toys in existence; the British Museum has a Roman rag doll, found in a child's grave dating from 300 BC.Rag dolls have featured in a...
s because it was made of plush furlike fabric. At the same time in the USA, Morris Michtom
Morris Michtom
Morris Michtom was a Russian Jewish immigrant, who with his wife Rose invented the Teddy Bear.Mitchtom, who arrived in New York in 1887, was selling candy in his shop at 404 Tompkins Avenue in Bedford-Stuyvesant Brooklyn by day and making stuffed animals with his wife Rose at night. The Teddy Bear...
created the first teddy bear
Teddy bear
The teddy bear is a stuffed toy bear. They are usually stuffed with soft, white cotton and have smooth and soft fur. It is an enduring form of a stuffed animal in many countries, often serving the purpose of entertaining children. In recent times, some teddy bears have become collector's items...
, after being inspired by a drawing of Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...
with a bear cub. The character Peter Rabbit
Peter Rabbit
Peter Rabbit is a fictional anthropomorphic character in various children's stories by Beatrix Potter. He first appeared in The Tale of Peter Rabbit in 1902, and subsequently in five more books between 1904 and 1912. Spinoff merchandise includes dishes, wallpaper, and dolls...
from English author Beatrix Potter
Beatrix Potter
Helen Beatrix Potter was an English author, illustrator, natural scientist and conservationist best known for her imaginative children’s books featuring animals such as those in The Tale of Peter Rabbit which celebrated the British landscape and country life.Born into a privileged Unitarian...
was the first stuffed toy to be patented, in 1903.
Sock monkey
A sock monkey is a toy made from socks fashioned in the likeness of a monkey. These stuffed animals are a mixture of folk art and kitsch in the culture of the United States and the culture of Canada.- Origins :...
s are handmade stuffed monkeys made out of socks that first appeared during the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
. Amigurumi
Amigurumi
is the Japanese art of knitting or crocheting small stuffed animals and anthropomorphic creatures. The word is derived from a combination of the Japanese words ami, meaning crocheted or knitted, and nuigurumi, meaning stuffed doll...
is a Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese type of handcrafted knitted or crochet
Crochet
Crochet is a process of creating fabric from yarn, thread, or other material strands using a crochet hook. The word is derived from the French word "crochet", meaning hook. Hooks can be made of materials such as metals, woods or plastic and are commercially manufactured as well as produced by...
ed stuffed toys. Amigurumi are typically made to look cute
Cuteness in Japanese culture
Since the 1970s, cuteness, in Japanese the noun , has become a prominent aspect of Japanese popular culture, entertainment, clothing, food, toys, personal appearance, behavior, and mannerisms...
with over-sized heads and undersized extremities. Beginning in 2003, they are collected and sold on crafting websites like Etsy
Etsy
Etsy is an e-commerce website focused on handmade or vintage items as well as art and craft supplies. These items cover a wide range including art, photography, clothing, jewelry, edibles, bath & beauty products, quilts, knick-knacks and toys. Many individuals also sell craft supplies like beads,...
.
There are many brands of stuffed toys, including Beanie Babies, a line of stuffed beanbag animals, that was started in 1993. Several marketing strategies, such as keeping them at a low price, introducing a wide variety of Beanie Babies, giving them names, birthdays, and personalities, and retiring certain Beanie Babies after a while (thus giving them collector's value) made them widely popular for years after they were introduced..
Several brands of electronic and robotic plush toys were fad
FAD
In biochemistry, flavin adenine dinucleotide is a redox cofactor involved in several important reactions in metabolism. FAD can exist in two different redox states, which it converts between by accepting or donating electrons. The molecule consists of a riboflavin moiety bound to the phosphate...
s when they were first released. These include Tickle Me Elmo
Tickle Me Elmo
Tickle Me Elmo is a children's toy from Tyco Preschool, a division of Tyco Toys, based on the character Elmo from the children's television show, Sesame Street. When squeezed, Elmo would chortle. When squeezed three times in a row, Elmo would begin to shake and laugh hysterically.The toy was...
, a laughing and shaking plush toy based on the character Elmo
Elmo
Elmo is a Muppet character on the children's television show Sesame Street. He is a furry red monster and currently hosts the last full 15 minute segment on Sesame Street, Elmo's World, which is aimed at toddlers. His puppeteer, Kevin Clash, uses falsetto to produce his voice...
from the Sesame Street
Sesame Street
Sesame Street has undergone significant changes in its history. According to writer Michael Davis, by the mid-1970s the show had become "an American institution". The cast and crew expanded during this time, including the hiring of women in the crew and additional minorities in the cast. The...
television show, released in 1996, Furby
Furby
A Furby was a popular electronic robotic toy resembling a hamster/owl-like creature which went through a period of being a "must-have" toy following its launch in the holiday season of 1998, with continual sales until 2000...
, a robotic talking plush toy with its own language, released in 1998 and Zhu Zhu Pets
Zhu Zhu Pets
Zhu Zhu Pets , formerly Go Go Hamsters in the UK, is an American line of plush robotic hamster toys, created by Cepia LLC in 2009. They were a craze during the 2009 Christmas season holidays.-History:...
, a line of robotic plush hamsters released in 2009.
Webkinz
Webkinz
Webkinz are toy stuffed animals that were originally released by the Canadian Ganz company on April 29, 2005. The toys are similar to many other small plush toys, however, each Webkinz toy has an attached tag with a unique "Secret Code" printed on it that allows access to the "Webkinz World" website...
stuffed animals were created by Ganz
Ganz (toy company)
Ganz is a Canadian company best known for distributing plush animals and collectibles. More recently it is known as the manufacturer of Webkinz, the toy with an interactive virtual-reality Internet site...
in 2005. Each Webkinz toy comes with a unique "Secret Code" that gives access to the Webkinz World website and a virtual version
Digital pet
A digital pet is a type of artificial human companion. They are usually kept for companionship or enjoyment. People may keep a digital pet in lieu of a real pet....
of the toy for online play. Disney's Club Penguin
Club Penguin
Club Penguin is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game involving a virtual world containing a range of online games and activities, by Club Penguin Entertainment . Players use cartoon penguin-avatars and play in a winter-set virtual world...
and Build-A-Bearville from Build-A-Bear Workshop
Build-A-Bear Workshop
Build-A-Bear Workshop is an American retailer headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri that sells teddy bears and other stuffed animals. Customers go through an interactive process in which the stuffed animal of their choice is assembled and customized during their visit to the store, and is the...
are other online worlds
Virtual world
A virtual world is an online community that takes the form of a computer-based simulated environment through which users can interact with one another and use and create objects. The term has become largely synonymous with interactive 3D virtual environments, where the users take the form of...
with content that can be unlocked from codes found on associated stuffed toys.
Pillow Pets
Pillow Pets
Pillow Pets are a brand of American stuffed toys designed for children. Ordinary Pillow Pets are made of chenille and feature Velcro straps underneath that give it the ability to be transformed from a decorated pillow into a stuffed animal. When Pillow Pets were invented by Jennifer Telfer in 2003,...
are a brand of folding stuffed toys. These types have straps that open to transform the toy from the stuffed toy position to pillow
Pillow
A pillow is a large cushion support for the head, usually used while sleeping in a bed, or for the body as used on a couch or chair. There are also throw pillows , which are pillows that are purely decorative and not designed for support or comfort...
position, and close to restore it back to a stuffed toy.